The Evolution of the American Couch Potato

EVOLUTION American COUCH POTATO OF THE In 1921, a 14 year old Utah farm boy named Philo Farnsworth had a revolutionary idea. the all-electronic Utah television. Beaver When he showed his high school chemistry teacher the designs, did he realize that his invention would change the world? Whether he realized it or not... it did. By 1950, nearly every American family owned a television set and recieved around 3 channels. ch 1 ch 2 ch 3 50 years later, the typical American family's home was outfitted with multiple television sets and well over 100 channels from which to choose. 02 03 08 01 04 05 06 07 09 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 85 86 87 88 89 84 90 91 92 93 94 95 97 98 99 100 Today... 88.7% of US households own or more tv sets, and 55% of US households own 3 or more. The average American spends 226 minutes a day watching TV. 100% Total hours in the day 34% 66% Hours sleeping Hours awake 52% 14% Hours working, eating, running errands and being active Hours watching TV 10 15 20.54 24 hours in the day That's more than watching per year. 52 days of non-stop TV 1 calendar year Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec 66% of Americans regularly watch television while eating dinner. 1 in 4 Americans falls asleep with the TV on at least 3 nights a week. The average American child spends VS. 1,154 900 hours per year watching TV, hours per year in school. 1 in 12 American families requires that their kids do their homework before watching TV. By age 18, the number of Violent acts the average American child sees on TV: 200,000 During 4 hrs of Saturday morning cartoons, the number of ads aired for IILLLLIILLI ILLLLLLIIIL LILLL junk food: IILLLLL. 202E LILL LILLL) IILL LILLLLLLLLLLLL. Chips LI.ILL Surely, Philo Farnsworth, the Utah farm boy, knew his invention would change the World. For better, or for worse?... ...You decide. Sources: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philo_Farnsworth catholiceducation.org/articles/parenting/pa0025.html en-us.nielsen.com/content/nielsen/en_us/ measurement/tv_research.html blog.nielsen.com/nielsenwire/consumer/u-s-homes- add-even-more-tv-sets-in-2010/ I---